Oracle EBS Upgrade

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Why Upgrade Oracle EBS?

Oracle is following a “Continuous Innovation” release model for Oracle E-Business Suite 12.2, delivering ongoing applications and underlying technology stack updates for 12.2 without requiring a major upgrade. Additionally, 12.2 is the long-term support release for Oracle E-Business Suite, with Premier Support for 12.2 available through at least 2032.

 

And finally, maximize the return from your existing investments in the Oracle E-Business Suite applications.

Oracle upgrade

The clock is ticking !!! upgrade to the supported EBS and Database versions

Premier Support for Oracle EBS 12.1 ended on December 31, 2021. Are you paying for Market Driven Support?

8 reasons to upgrade your Oracle EBS

  • Support ever-evolving business requirements, processes, vision, and strategy
  • Move away from unsupported versions of operating systems, databases, and applications
  • Interoperate in technological and business platform ecosystems
  • Extending the life of and ROI from Investments in the core ERP
  • Leverage new modules such as Enterprise Command Centers which are available only from 12.2.4
  • Leverage ADOP for updating standard Oracle Apps and Database Objects with Online Patching
  • Access to latest Oracle Technology Ecosystem such as Oracle Analytics Server/ Oracle Analytics Cloud, Oracle SOA Suite / Oracle Integration Cloud
  • Implementation of collaborative applications such as iSupplier

By keeping your software investments current with the latest release, your organization benefits from the most up-to-date applications and features and allows you to keep pace with today’s competitive marketplace. Is the effort and risk of upgrading your Oracle Applications holding your organization back from reaping the benefits of latest technology advances? Upgrade or face the consequence of staying on an unsupported version paying for Advanced Customer Services?

Upgrade in 10-12 weeks with AppsTek Rapid Upgrade Methodology (RUM)

Now, the no brainer question is, do you want to Upgrade, if you have a solution that mitigates all your risks and addresses your doubts?

AppsTek’s Rapid Upgrade Methodology (RUM) solution is evolved with years of experience with multiple Oracle EBS technical, functional and hybrid upgrades across the versions, deployment options. Salient features of the RUM are:

  • Automated assessment of the environment for enumerating CEMLIs/ RICE-Ws with 99%+ accuracy
  • Automated planning, execution and production roll out of the upgrade
  • Parallel execution of the DBA, Oracle Technical, and System Administration tasks
  • Leverage the current infrastructure (hardware, operating systems, and databases)
  • Upgrade the Database version, if needed
  • Achieve CEMLIs/RICE-Ws remediation in 2 iterations
  • Automated remediation of the Custom Objects to the extent possible (~70%), exceptions include interfaces, reports, and workflows

  • Focus on ensuring the baseline functionality of the CEMLIs in 12.1.3 is intact in 12.2.x post upgrade
  • Defining test plans, test execution and ensuring parity is the responsibility of the customer
  • Parallel set up of the environment by customer infrastructure team
  • Remediation of all the parity issues and assistance in testing
  • 1 week of onsite support during UAT
  • 2 weeks of post go-live support
  • Manual set up of DR during post go-live support

Free Oracle EBS Upgrade Consultation

Are you struggling while navigating through the trilemmas of Oracle EBS Upgrades? Book a free consulting session and talk to our experts for guidance.

  • Objectives: Upgrade, Reimplement, Upgrade and Consolidate
  • Scope: Technical, Functional, Hybrid
  • Deployment: On-Premises, OCI, SaaS
  • Sequence: OS, Database, EBS
  • Optimization: Archiving, Purging, DW
  • User Experience: Carry Forward, Adjust, Adopt HTML UI/OAF

Book your 1-hour session with our experts

    Tune in to our webinars

    Read our Blogs

    Already convinced of AppsTek RUM? Let’s get started with free EBS Upgrade Assessment

    • Our EBS Upgrade Assessment Tool covers custom alerts, applications, database objects, flex fields, forms, form messages, forms personalization’s, FSGs, lookups, menus, OAF objects, profiles, request sets, responsibilities, triggers, value sets, and workflows
    • Ensures thorough scanning of the current environment, analyse the usage and obsolescence, and produces reports that help in comprehensive and detailed planning of all the components involved in the upgrade
    • The tool automatically generates a project plan to track the progress of the CEMLIs, which can be integrated into the overall upgrade project plan

    Our Assessment Tool

    • Runs a no-harm script on your environment reading the object definitions in the custom schema only (Tool does not touch your business data)
    • The tool generates xml files of the enumerated objects
    • You can take a preview of the xml files and send it to us securely via the secure FTP (SFTP)
    • Output from the assessment is fed into our integrated EBS Upgrade Assessment Suite to generate the effort, schedule, and project plan for remediation
    • Tool supports the upgrade through assessment, remediation, and production

    Frequently Asked Questions

    We are now just several weeks away from the December 2021 premier support deadline for Oracle EBS 12.1.3, and there is an obvious trend in organizations adding EBS 12.2 upgrades to their IT roadmap. While the need is recognized to upgrade to maintain support, you may have many questions around the overall project. We have listed some of the most frequently asked questions around the Oracle EBS 12.2 upgrade:

    Are there any added risks in the 100 % remote delivery model that you are proposing, compared to the onshore or hybrid delivery models?

    We do not foresee any risks, as this model has been proven with many of our customers. Even though our team works remotely they will be working completely during your business hours whichever time zone you are located in.

    We use proven connectivity options to access customer environments, viz., secure VPN, Citrix RDP, etc.

    We subscribe to the bandwidth requirements of the upgrade tasks and provide separate channel with a backup ISP connectivity from a different provider as well as mobile data network to ensure uninterrupted connectivity.

    When situations demand we use our strong onshore presence to make resources available onshore/onsite at no extra cost for unforeseen technical challenges as business continuity measure.

    If you are maintaining the Oracle EBS environments by yourself or through a Managed Services Provider, we ensure smooth working across the time zones and multiple vendors including OEMs. We will assist the current teams with the UAT support and transition back to your BAU as per your needs.

    Can we do it in phases? Application First, DB next… if so, how does it affect our package cost, timelines etc…

    • DB 11.2 Extended Support ended on December 31,2020
    • EBS 12.1.3 Premier Support ends December 31, 2021
    • DB 12.1 Extended Support ends on July 31,2022
    • Following picture summarizes the paths available.

     

    From EBS 12.1.3 with DB 11.2.0.4:

    • Upgrade DB and EBS by End of 2021 – Path C
    • Upgrading DB first and then EBS – Path A

    From EBS 12.1.3 with DB 12.1.0.2:

    •  Upgrade EBS by end of 2021 and Upgrade DB by end of July 2022 – Path B
    •  Upgrading DB and then EBS by end of 2021 – Path A
    •  Upgrading DB and EBS in one project by end of 2021 – Path C

    Our package is designed for the path B1 irrespective of your current DB version. DB Upgrade to the 19c is not in scope

    Do I need to upgrade my infrastructure as well for the Oracle EBS R12.2.x upgrade?

    As part of the assessment, we understand your current infrastructure through a survey and interview. We present the options available for you,

      • In-place upgrade (when the current operating system, database and storage are sufficient support the R12.2.x dual file system)
      • Infrastructure upgrade along with EBS upgrade in a new environment, if your infrastructure is dated and is due for refresh with on-premises or hosted or cloud environments
      • If your current environment is still usable but does not suffice R12.2.x requirements, we make recommendations on using the same for DW or TRN environments
      • Infrastructure upgrade needs to be taken care of by the internal IT team while assist them with the sizing.

    How do I ensure that functional behaviour is same post upgrade?

    As part of the assessment, we conduct automated CEMLIs/RICE-Ws assessment which provides 99%+ accuracy in identifying the custom objects. We review these with you and ensure that all the required CEMLIs are remediated into the R12.2.x environment as part of the upgrade. CEMLIs compliance is performed to the full compliance to work on R12.2.x version with ADOP enablement.

    We recommend discarding concurrent programs (reports, workflows, interfaces) not used in over 365 days and perform risk-based regression testing to ensure timely upgrade.

    How do you ensure that my users adopt R12.2.x easily and immediately?

    We will enumerate all the Oracle Documentation and training courses that are available for the users to get familiar with the minimal changes expected.

    We provide UAT support and train the trainer demonstrations for critical business process flows.

    Internal/ Incumbent support team is encouraged to evangelize the new version internally.

    How do I manage my licensing?

    For on-premises upgrade there is no change to the current licensing.

    For upgrade onto OCI also, there is no change with Bring Your Own License (BYOL) policy.

    Are Backup and DR setups part of the upgrade package?

    Yes, we ensure baseline setup on Oracle EBS 12.1.3 is made available on Oracle EBS 12.2.x.

    Why should I upgrade to the latest version of Oracle EBS?

    The most obvious answer to this question is to maintain support. Oracle Premier Support for EBS 12.1.3 expires in December 2021. Upgrading to EBS 12.2 will ensure that your organization continues to receive support through December 2031. Another key incentive is access to continuous innovation of the product, including availability of Oracle’s Enterprise Command Centers (OECC). OECC creates a holistic view of your EBS environment, with dashboards available for many commonly used modules.

    What changes should I expect in EBS 12.2.x?

    In addition to the ability to leverage Oracle Enterprise Command Centers, there are a few additional changes to the underlying technology of EBS. The most talked about feature is the change in the R12.2.x architecture, which includes the ability to leverage Edition-Based Redefinition at the database and multiple file systems on the application tier to allow for online patching. Also new to 12.2.x is the introduction of the WebLogic Server, which is a replacement on the Oracle internet application server that provides management for most of your primary core EBS middle tier code, web services, and form functionalities in a fusion middleware home.

    Does Oracle provide any utilities to help prepare for this upgrade?

    Unlike past upgrades, Oracle does provide online patching preparation utilities to help prepare your application for this upgrade. These preparation utilities can be further broken down into three main sections – Online Patching Readiness Reports, Online Patching Standard Compliance Report, and Database & File System Standards Checker. These three steps will ensure that all your customizations are in compliance with Oracle online patching development standards.

    What does a typical upgrade look like?

    A typical EBS 12.2 upgrade will take roughly 10-12 weeks to successfully complete, depending on your Oracle footprint. We follow Accelerate Oracle’s recommended methodology to ensure a successful EBS 12.2.x upgrade within this period with AppsTek RUM. Those steps include:

    Architecture Review – Review and ensure current operating systems and database versions are certified for use with Oracle EBS 12.2.x

    Execution and Analysis of Online Patching Readiness Reports – Download and execute on a non-production environment to determine impact any CEMLIs may have on the upgrade

    First Test Upgrade – Perform an initial test upgrade to ensure standard functionality is working as expected and to identify and document any issues that occur during the upgrade process during conference room pilot testing. Begin/continue any custom code remediation identified by the online patching readiness reports.

    Second Test Upgrade – Repeat the steps of the first upgrade test and include customizations into the second iteration of conference room testing. Update the documentation and include timings to execute in preparation for the transition to production.

    User Acceptance Test and Training– Complete the last iteration of user testing with the goal of obtaining user sign-off to proceed to production.

    Production period – Perform the upgrade of your application and bring your EBS 12.2.x environment live.

    Go Live Support – Provide AppsTek’s 24/7 tailored managed services for a 2-week period to ensure that our upgrade efforts were successful.

    As you can see, there are many benefits to upgrading to EBS 12.2.x using the AppsTek Rapid Upgrade Methodology

    Reach out

    While this list covers some of the more common questions we have encountered, we know that you likely have your own questions. You can also check out webinars above on EBS 12.2 upgrades to get additional information.

    Or, for a more personalized conversation, please reach out to us at info@appstekcorp.com  to discuss exactly what the upgrade would look like for your organization.